Just on the off chance that someone with authority reads these pages, cares enough to take any notice and do something about it how would you like to see the TA develop?

For my part I would like to see the short TA courses scrapped and everyone do the same (regular army) courses.

Deployments as individuals or sub units on a regular basis ie once in three years.

Obligation to train when required by your unit and soldiers being charged when they don't turn up.

The possibility of transfer from regular to reserve and vice versa. Training on and issued with exactly the same kit as regular units.

Bounty to remain as well as introduction of pensions. (Don't forget regulars have a number of bounty payments, some quite significant amounts, at stages of their career. These reflect issues and difficulties they face as regulars, we reservists have different issues and in return should also keep our bounty)

Real and meaningful job protection for reservists.

To me that does not sound too much, the MOD would get a lot in return for their investment. Can't see it happening though.

Which all works very well for those students in the TA, those that can get extended periods of time off work, people who never work weekends and the unemployed. What happens to the rest of us with real jobs that only get 4 weeks holiday per year?

I'm a student in the process of joining the TA, and that sounds like too much for anyone, including me.

Deployment every three years and regular length courses? With pre and post-deployment training, basic training, phase 2, trade courses etc, surely you'd spend 18/24 months of your first three years away.

So for the rest of my time I can continue my civillian career, spend time with my family and simply be a TA soldier. Your reply makes lack of kit and inadequate training sound like benifits I would be prepared to surender. Although I would gladly give them up I cannot see them as benifits.

We don't attend a course every year or for most TA soldiers even two years and some regular courses are short anyway. Deployment and pre deployment training need not take more than a year and do not for the vast majority of regulars on the garrison I work on as a civil servant. Even if the period were extended to one in four then the MOD would get a good deal and we TA soldiers could still get on with our lives.

So for the rest of my time I can continue my civillian career, spend time with my family and simply be a TA soldier. Your reply makes lack of kit and inadequate training sound like benifits I would be prepared to surender. Although I would gladly give them up I cannot see them as benifits.

I'm a student in the process of joining the TA, and that sounds like too much for anyone, including me.

Deployment every three years and regular length courses? With pre and post-deployment training, basic training, phase 2, trade courses etc, surely you'd spend 18/24 months of your first three years away.

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Phase 2 training is your trade course. Presuming that you did Phase 1 and 2 in the first year you would then get two or three years before pre deployment training/deployment and POTL and another two or three years before the cycle starts again.

Which all works very well for those students in the TA, those that can get extended periods of time off work, people who never work weekends and the unemployed. What happens to the rest of us with real jobs that only get 4 weeks holiday per year?

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The law in other countries is that reserve time does not come out of your civvi occupations holiday time. Employers breaking this law and causing difficulties in any other way spend time in jail. That includes not employing reservists

Just on the off chance that someone with authority reads these pages, cares enough to take any notice and do something about it how would you like to see the TA develop?

For my part I would like to see the short TA courses scrapped and everyone do the same (regular army) courses. Already avaliable under Op Entirety, not everyone can take a month off work?

Deployments as individuals or sub units on a regular basis ie once in three years. Currently avaliable, except for formed units with exceptions (Med)

Obligation to train when required by your unit and soldiers being charged when they don't turn up. Difficult but would be nice along with the benifits

The possibility of transfer from regular to reserve and vice versa. Training on and issued with exactly the same kit as regular units. WTS allows for this, you get much the same kit remember its in just as short supply for the Regs

Bounty to remain as well as introduction of pensions. (Don't forget regulars have a number of bounty payments, some quite significant amounts, at stages of their career. These reflect issues and difficulties they face as regulars, we reservists have different issues and in return should also keep our bounty) So you want a pension and £1500 tax free each year

Real and meaningful job protection for reservists. Nice but requires an act of parliment and all the dangers inherent

To me that does not sound too much, the MOD would get a lot in return for their investment. Can't see it happening though.

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My bold?

With the economy struggling as much as it is at the moment could you make the TA soldier even more unemployable by putting all this in place.

The MOD would end up paying twice for the TA soldier as they would have to come up with something to make it worth while for the employeer so it would not be cost effective.

You could not jail someone for not employing a reserve soldier, under what grounds?

It could cause discrimination against no reserve potential employees.

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I have never heard of Op Entirety you mention and would be interested to know more.

In the US, Canada and Oz discrimination against reservists is a criminal act and employers do go to jail for it. Just as discrimination against someone because of their race, gender or sexual orientation is a criminal act for which employers are heavily fined.

I cannot see any dangers in an act of parliament which protects the employment rights of reservists so long as anti discrimination laws also cover reservists.
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